Art of decorating leather



P 1935. c. A. MESSMER ART OF DECORATING LEATHER Filed Oct. 26, 1933 Patented Sept. 10, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,014,263 ART OF DECORATING LEATHER iii,

Charles A. Messmer, St. Louis, Mo. Application October 26, 1933, Serial No. 695,297

7 Claims.

This invention relates generally to the decorating or ornamentation of leather and particularly to a method of ornamenting or decorating leather which is suitable for use in shoe uppers.

The object of the present invention, generally stated, is to provide a decorated piece of leather in which an interwoven strand or other member operates as an underlay for the leather.

Another object of this invention is to provide a method of decorating leather wherein an interwoven piece or strand is so arranged as to operate as both a weaving and an underlay for another piece of leather.

A further object of this invention is to provide a joint for leather parts wherein a woven member operates in the capacity of both a weaving and an underlay.

A more specific object of this invention is to provide a method of decorating leather wherein a woven strand passes through from openings in a piece of leather but under other openings through which it is visible.

Other objects will become apparent to those skilled in the art, when the following description is read in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a view of a conventional shoe vamp decorated in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmental view in plan showing a piece of leather suitably punched for decoration in accordance with the present invention and showing a different design from that illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a plan view of a strand adapted to be woven through the openings of the leather shown in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional view showing the leather parts of Figures 2 and 3 in interwoven relation.

Figure 5 is a plan View showing a series of different designs obtainable with the present invention.

Figure 6 is a fragmental plan view showing a joint between two pieces of leather connected in accordance with the present invention and producing the ornamental effect of the present invention.

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken along line 1--1 of Figure 6.

In accordance with the present invention, generally stated, a piece of leather, such as a piece of shoe upper material which is to be decorated may be provided ranged as, for instance, in a straight or curved line. Through the line of openings thus prowith a series of openings arvided, another piece of material such, for instance, as a strand of leather, and preferably of a color which contrasts to the color of the piece of material to be decorated may be woven in such manner that it overlies in some regions, the piece :5 to be decorated, but in other regions it forms an underlay for the piece to be decorated, the weaving forming an underlay visible through the adjacent openings. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a series of I slits may be provided so as to receive a strand to be woven therethrough and intermediate some of the slits may be formed openings or windows of any desired contour. With the windows formed in the same line as the slits, it is apparent that 1 5 the strand, when passed therebeneath will be'visible therethrough and thus form an underlayfor the piece of leather to be decorated.

The decorative effect accomplished by thepresent invention is adaptable not only to the decoration of the single pieces of leather, but also lends itself particularly to use in decorating a joint between two pieces of leather. When employed in the latter relation, it is apparent that a series of openings may be formed in the respective pieces to be joined, the openings of each piece being in corresponding position. When the'parts to be joined are superposed one upon the other, it is apparent that a strand of suitable material may be woven through the corresponding openings and caused to underlay such of theopenings as is desired.

Referring now particularly to the drawing in Figure 1 there is illustrated a conventional shoe vamp l, which may be formed of any suitable material such, for instance, as leather or fabric and which may have provided in any desired position thereon, a decorative underlay and weaving in accordance with the present invention. Such a combination underlay and weaving is illustrated generally at 2 and maycomprise a series of slits 3, the individual pairs of which are substantially parallel and the series of which may be arranged to form either .a straight or curved line. As illustrated in Figure 1, intermediate the respective pairs of slits 3 may be formed windows 4 extending entirely through the piece of mate rial l. Through the slits or openings 3 may then be woven a strand 5, preferably of a color contrasting to the color of the vamp I. As illustrated, the strand 5 extends over the material between the slits 3 of each pair, while intermediate the respective pairs ofsllts -3'the strand 5 is'underneath the vamp l. Accordingly with the openings 4 formed between the respective pairs of 55 slits 3, the underlying strand 5 is visible through openings 4 and thereby forms an underlay for.

the vamp. Itwill be understood that the series of openings 3 and 4 may be arranged at any desired portion of the vamp or other upper material and in any desired relation either curved, straight or angular, the position shown being merely for the purpose of illustration.

a formed in the desired relation in the piece of material 6 to be decorated, a strand of leather or other material 8, preferably of contrasting color may be woven through the slits 3, so as to overlie the substance 9'between the ,slits of each respective pair. The strand 8 as clearly shown in Figure 4, however, passes beneath window 1 and thereby forms an underlay 'visible through the piece of material 6.

Figure 5 illustrates a series of embodiments, each illustrating a diiferent design obtainable in accordance with the present invention. In the various embodiments illustrated in Figure 5, the series of openings have been designated by the same reference characters as those employed in designating the corresponding parts of the embodiment shown in Figure 2-that is to say, the reference character 3 indicates the slits through which a strand of material 8 is woven, while the reference character 1 indicates the intervening windows between respective pairs of slits 3.

Referring now particularly to Figures 6 and 7, the decorative combination underlay and weaving as above described is shown in connection with a joint between two pieces of material H and I! which may be pieces of shoe upper material to be connected together. As shown in Figure 6, the piece of material ll may be of a different or contrasting color to the piece of material l2 as would be the case if the joint were employed to secure the upper to the sole as, for instance, in conventional sandal construction. In forming the joints shown in Figures 6 and 7, each of the pieces of material I l and l 2 may be provided with a series of openings such, for instance, as slits 3 through which a strand of material 8 may be woven. It will be understood that the slits 3 formed in piece of material l2. are, as shown in Figure 7,

correspondingly spaced to those of the piece of 'be formed openings or windows M through which the underlying'material may be visible; likewise, if it is desired that the woven strand 8 be visible from the exterior of the joint, corresponding openings or windows l5 may be formed in the piece of material I! so as to coincide with openings I 4' in which case, as illustrated in Figure 7,

the adjacent portions of the underlying strand 8.

will be visible through windows I4 and I5. If, however, it is desired to expose the material l2 through windows I 4, it is apparent that the winthe straps, and a strand dow l5' may be eliminated in which case, as illustrated in Figure '7, the lower layer of material l2 will be visible at I6 through window I4.

'From the foregoing description, it is apparent that the present invention provides a method of 5 decorating leather wherein a single piece of material such, for instance, as a strand may operate both as a weaving and as an underlay for the piece of leather to be decorated. Such an arrangement may be employed for decorating either 10 a single piece of material, or a'plurality as is the case with a joint. It is apparent that the method of decorating leather hereinbefore described may be employed in producing many designs other than those illustrated in the drawing, and it is 15 to be understood, therefore, that the designs shown in the drawing are merely for the purpose of illustration, and it is apparent that many variations in construction and design may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from 20,

the spirit of this invention. It is to be distinctly understood, therefore, that such modifications and the use of such individual features and subcombinations of features as do not depart from the spirit of this invention are, although not spe- 25 cifically described herein, contemplated by and Within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In the art of ornamenting leather, the proc- 30 ess comprising, forming a line of parallel slits in a piece of leather so as to produce a series of straps, forming windows between said straps, and weaving a strand through said straps and under said windows.

2. In the art of ornamenting leather, the process comprising, forming lines of parallel slits in pieces of leather to be connected so as to pro 'duce a series of straps therein, forming windows intermediate the straps in one of the pieces, and 40 weaving a strand through corresponding straps in the pieces to be connected.

3. In the art of ornamenting leather, the proc ess comprising, forming lines of parallel slits in pieces of leather to be connected so as to produce 45 a series of straps therein, forming windows intermediate some of the straps and weaving a strand through corresponding straps in the respective pieces to be connected and under said windows.

4. As an article of manufacture, a piece of 50 leather having a series of openings, and a strand passing through some but not all of said openings and underlying the others so as to be visible therethrough.

5. As an article of manufacture, a piece of 5 leather having a line of parallel slits forming a series of straps, windows intermediate some of passing through the straps and under the windows.

6. A'joint for leather parts comprising, over- 60 lapping parts each having a line'of parallel slits forming a series of straps, the outside part having windows between the straps, and a strand woven through said straps and connecting the parts.

,7. A joint for leather parts comprising, overlapping parts each having a line of parallel slits forming a series of straps and windows intermediate some of the straps, the straps and windows of the respective parts being in alinement, and a strandwoven through said straps and under said windows. a

CHARLES A. MESSMER. 

